Friends: welcome to the dream.
While I agree with this in principle (more than in practice), is this a call to do something, or to do nothing?"Free will" folly is believing that faith in the Gospel is a matter of personal choice unrelated to the work of God in the heart.
It believes that nothing is required to cause faith in the Gospel other than a person's choice to believe.
All men (& women) are born in Adam1 enslaved prisoners of sin, by no choice of their own!
Our arrogant pride nature assumes, and prefers to believe that our decisions pay a part in a salvation that begins in God & ends in God. We did not, we cannot, follow the Lord as prisoners of incarceration, His love and grace must reach for us by HIS drawing power!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. "
While I agree with this in principle (more than in practice), is this a call to do something, or to do nothing?
I say "more than in practice", because I am still encouraging people to follow Christ. But maybe I am meddling in God's business? To do, or not to do, that is the question. ???
While I peddle, I'll watch out for puddles. - lolMeddle on, my brother, muddle on.
free will is from the perspective of earth looking up, predestination is from the perspective of heaven looking down. They describe the same thing. Use whatever motivates you to spread his message."And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."
What is the foundation of "free will"?
free will is from the perspective of earth looking up, predestination is from the perspective of heaven looking down. They describe the same thing. Use whatever motivates you to spread his message.
How does this work with our accountability for our own behavior?Dear Damian: Not quite! There is no such animal as "free will"! Man is a will, the question = how free?
Predestination on the other hand is indeed from the perspective of "heaven looking down" by the Will of all wills.
Every incarcerated sinner released from prison transformed & changed by the Will of all wills.
How does this work with our accountability for our own behavior?
For instance, when we are tempted to sin we make a decision whether to yield or not.
If we make the wrong decision we are accountable. Was that not a free will decision?
Or were we predestined to do the right or wrong thing? (no choice in the matter)
You can call me Steve. (Saint is not my first name - lol)Dear Saint: ...
You can call me Steve. (Saint is not my first name - lol)
Thanks for your thoughtful reply though. I agree.
Lets at least try to start with what we do agree on:"For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone."
Questions=
1. What does imprisoned mean?
2. What is the scope of "everyone"?
3. How many of the imprisoned everyone can expect mercy?
Lets at least try to start with what we do agree on:
Is it beyond God’s ability to provide humans with some small amount autonomous free will?
Did Adam and Eve prior to sinning have some limited amount of free will?
If humans really had to have a very limited amount of truly autonomous free will to fulfill some righteous objective would God have both the power and Love to provide humans with this autonomous free will?
Is a Love for someone made as a result of some truly free will choice with likely other alternatives, greater than the instinctive love even an animal might have for a person?
A nonbelieving sinner is naturally selfishly motivated, but is there anything contrary to scripture for him to make a free will choice to chose one selfish act over another selfish act?
If man is here to bring glory to God, can man do stuff which does not bring glory to God?
I think this is deeper then "free will". God can never do evil/sin.. the goal so to speak "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!' To show His mercy, grace to the world/all. NO one knows how much He loves us..
Dear Bling: This is exciting thinking about what we agree on LOL.
Prior to sin by A.& E. the Father knew exactly what they would do with their will. I dare say I understand so little of our Heavenly Lord, but it appears His mighty purpose was wrapped in His beloved Son (and still is) to express Himself in love and grace.
"Unbelieving sinners" as a result are incarcerated in the prison house of unbelief. Can he do "stuff" to bring glory to God? I think not, the only stuff worthy of we sinners is>>>
Lord be merciful to me a sinner
You said: "God knows all things. But it is logically impossible to know in advance what a free will agent will choose. That cannot be known in advance because the free-will agent has not yet made his choice.
If someone knew (it doesn’t have to be God) that you were going to eat an apple tomorrow, then it would be impossible for you to refrain from eating an apple tomorrow. For if tomorrow you choose NOT to eat and apple that would indicate that that someone didn’t know after all.